Social Media for People Who Hate Social Media

I talk to lots of entrepreneurs, small business owners, nonprofit
CEO’s, coaches, consultants, etc. who are overwhelmed by the thought of
managing social media for their business.
They think it takes too much time, that they can’t be “authentic,” some have
had problems with stalkers and are afraid to use social media to promote their business. Others don’t like social media because they
think people spend too much time on it.

All of these are valid concerns and there’s no reason any of
them should stop you from using social media to promote your business.

A word to coaches and therapists here – it is a
business. I know you’re not in it for
the money but unless you’re independently wealthy, you probably need to make
money with your practice. That means you
have a business.

For the nonprofit folks in the room, a nonprofit is still a business, it just has a different tax status than a for profit business and the business model is a bit different. A nonprofit still needs to make money because, the last time I checked, nonprofit employees do receive a paycheck and the electricity isn’t free.

All these businesses need customers, clients, donors, etc.,
which means they need a way to advertise their products and services.

Social media is just another form of advertising and the
best thing about it is that it’s FREE!
Who doesn’t like free?

Here are a few of the most common questions and concerns I
hear about social media:

Do I need a separate page for my business?

YES! Why? Because your customers/clients don’t
give a hoot about your cute kid, pet, husband/wife, where you went on vacation,
the new thing you just bought, the weirdo you saw in Walmart, you get the picture. You customers/clients care about how you can
help them, the products you sell, the results you produce. The same applies for your friends/family who
follow your personal page – they don’t necessarily care about your business. If they do, they can choose to follow your
business page.

I don’t have time to post to an additional social media page!

It doesn’t take as much time as you
might think and there are tools to make it easier. I use Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com)
because it’s easy and it’s FREE (well, free for 3 platforms and up to 30 posts
per month). Personally, I post to 3
platforms: Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn every day, Monday through Friday
(Tuesday’s post is a blog but that’s a whole other topic). Each week I create 4 posts and schedule them
to post the following week. I always
work a week ahead. That’s what works for
me. If you’re just starting out and
creating 4-5 posts a week seems like too much, start with 1 or 2 and only one
platform.

I don’t know what to post about!

I admit that content is the hardest
thing for me. I’m a coach and consultant
and it’s hard to find photos (Instagram requires a photo). Look through the photos on your phone and
upload them to your desktop in a folder for social media posts. Nature pics are great. You can add an inspirational quote and presto!
you have a social media post.

If you sell a product, you have
built in content. Take photos of your products and post those. Be sure to include information about the item
and the price.

Also, share other businesses
posts. Follow others in your industry
and re-post/share their posts on occasion.

I’m a coach/therapist and I’m concerned about stalkers or stalking behavior.

Did you know that you can block
specific people from your page? Even if they try to follow you, your posts won’t
show up in their feed. On Facebook, you
can also ban people from being able to post or comment on your page.

Here’s how to do this on Facebook

Open your Home Page

Click on Settings in the upper right corner

On the menu on the left side, click on People
and Other Pages

You’ll see the list of people who Like your
page. Follow the instructions to remove
someone from the list or ban them. They
won’t know that you’ve done this.

For Instagram:

Open Instagram and click on the person shaped
icon in the upper right corner – this will take you to your Profile Page. You can also click on your name.

Click on the gear shaped icon next to your
name

Click on Privacy and Security

Click on Private Account – this will allow
you to approve anyone who requests to follow you

For LinkedIn

Click on “Me” in the upper right side of the
page

Click on Settings and Privacy

Choose the appropriate actions for yourself.

If you’re involved in a
domestic violence situation, contact your local victims’ advocacy center or
police department for information.

I know social media can be overwhelming so just start
slow. Block out time on your calendar
each week to tackle it. Like most
things, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

If you still can’t bring yourself to do it, call my friend
Tim Priebe at T and S Online Marketing.
Tim and his team can handle your social media for you, including writing
the content. You still have complete
control and approval before anything is posted.
They’re very nice people and a lot of fun to work with. Plus, they have
lots of free tips and advice on their website – check it out: www.tandsgo.com

Bottom line: social media is a business building tool and
whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay.

I hope this information is helpful! If you need more feel free to reach out via
social media or my website: www.redbudag.com